At 3:30 in the afternoon, S City TV's hit variety show 'Hello Holiday' ended the first half of its recording and entered the intermission.
Hu Biao, the agent of the IUD boy group, smiled and nodded in greeting to the passing staff as he quickly walked into the guest lounge.
In the lounge, the makeup artist and assistant were touching up the makeup of the group members. Hu Biao saw there were no outsiders in the room and immediately removed his expression. He looked at the only member in the corner who wasn't surrounded by an assistant and makeup artist and lowered his voice, speaking angrily, "What were you doing just now when you didn't cooperate? The host gave you a chance and you didn't answer a single word. He asked you to cooperate in the game and you sleepwalked the whole way. You also showed a dead face without any expression. What do you want to do? Rebel?"
The captain Mo Bin got up and persuaded him, "Brother Biao, don't be angry. Yang Yang is still young. You gave his audition opportunity to Ah Lan yesterday so it is normal for him to have a bit of a temper today."
Mo Bin's persuasion wasn't good and just made Hu Biao angrier.
"Is that an opportunity? With his acting skills, letting him go to the audition is just asking him to to blackened. I-"
There was a knock on the door of the lounge. The staff came in to invite the guests to the stage to record the second half of the show.
Hu Biao stopped talking. He adjusted his expression before opening the door and speaking a few words to the staff. Then he closed the door again and suppressed his anger as he spoke, "Xie Yang, stay here. The others will continue to record the problem. Later, I'll let Ah Wen come to pick up Xie Yang to go to the hospital. Remember to say that Xie Yang's sullen face was due to a sudden emergency and he insisted on continuing to work despite his illness, understood?"
Everyone didn't dare touch Hu Biao and expressed their understanding. Only Xie Yang remained silent.
Hu Biao's chest was filled with anger. He wanted to scold Xie Yang but the occasion wasn't right. He simply didn't want to look at this person and left two assistants behind to watch Xie Yang before leaving the lounge with the others.
In less than two minutes, Ah Wen came in and took Xie Yang to the hospital. After getting in the car, Ah Wen saw that Xie Yang kept turning his head and looking out the window. Ah Wen thought this person was feeling wronged and persuaded him, "Yang Yang, don't think about it. You are all children in the same team and you are all of equal importance. This time, Brother Biao gave your chance to Ke Lan but he will surely find one for you in another place."
Xie Yang didn't speak and kept looking out the window.
"In fact, Brother Biao did this for your own good. Your acting skills aren't great and you have to learn more and work harder. Ke Lang is specifically trained so this time he..."
Ah Wen rambled nonstop and Xie Yang didn't hear a single word. He stared at the bustling cards outside the window before closing his eyes like it was a dream. Was this an... illusion? He should be dead...
The driver suddenly slowed down. Ah Wen stopped talking and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It looks like there was a car accident ahead."
"Can you go around?"
"I'll try."
The driver started to change lanes and as they passed by the accident site, Ah Wen looked over.
A black car with a license plate that was a string of 9 was parked diagonally on the side of the road. The front of the car that was hit had a dent in it. On the opposite side, a white car with a license plate ending in 566 was damaged.
"Huh? 566?" Ah Wen signalled for the driver to drive slower and looked over with surprise. "Isn't this Mu Zhouyi's car?"
Xie Yang's ears caught the name 'Mu Zhouyi'. It was a slightly familiar name that wasn't very common An inexplicable feeling seized his heart and he straightened to look at the scene of the accident.
A crowd had surrounded the scene of the accident. In the distance, a slender figure wearing a backless fishtail dress got down from the white car and ran toward the black car.
Mu Zhouyi, a white fishtail dress, a car accident... Wasn't this the beginning of the simple and superficial entertainment circle novel that he picked up at a temporary hiding house a few days ago? On the way to an important dinner party, Mu Zhouyi, the female lead, collided with the male lead Feng Qingli's car. The female protagonist was okay but the male protagonist hurt his head and was unconscious. The female protagonist insisted on sending the male protagonist to the hospital in person. In the process, she dirtied the high-end white fishtail dress she borrowed and this caused a series of problems... "
It seems like it really is Mu Zhouyi." Ah Wen retracted his gaze and took out his phone to call Hu Biao.
The car turned and the scene of the accident could no longer be seen. Xie Yang retracted his gaze and frowned as he listened to Ah Wen and Hu Biao's phone call. What exactly was going on? He gazed at his hands that were too young and delicate. If everything he saw was just an illusion before he died, it was too real.
Half an hour later, the car arrived at a private hospital.
Ah Wen got off with Xie Yang and was very skilled in finding a doctor to arrange a few routine small examinations for Xie Yang. Then he took a photo of Xie Yang's examination and sent it to Hu Biao.
"Later, the company will find someone to release an article about your emergency admission. You stay in the hospital for two days and don't run away. I will let Li Li come and take care of you."
Xie Yang touched the pinprick left from his blood being drawn from his arm and his eyes fell on the TV in the ward without speaking.
Ah Wen glanced at the door of the ward and whispered, "Yang Yang, don't waste time on this insignificant problem. After all, you joined the group later and you are someone who is enjoying the popularity of the other members. Based on your current position, suffering losses is a blessing, you know?"
When it came to Xie Yang's principle of handling, 'suffering losses is a blessing' was the biggest lie. He looked at Ah Wen, finger pressed against the pinprick on his arm and nodded.
Ah Wen thought he listened and nodded in a pleased manner before ordered, "Also, you should act like you didn't see Mu Zhouyi's car accident. She is a bit evil and it is better to be less involved with her, understood?"
Evil?
Xie Yang raised his finger and nodded again. Ah Wen was satisfied and went outside to call Li Li.
He was finally able to be alone. Xie Yang's tense body slightly relaxed and he found the TV remote control to turn up the sound.
"...The chairman of the Rongding Group, Qiu Xing was discharged from the hospital this morning. This is the third time this year that he has fallen ill at work and his condition might've deteriorated again. It is reported that Qiu Xing is considering handing over management of Rongding to act behind the scenes and recuperate in peace..."
Qiu Xing, it was another name he had seen in the novel. Xie Yang had a guess in his heart as he turned off the TV and searched his body, eventually finding an old fruit-brand mobile phone.
In the apocalypse, the magnetic field was chaotic and communication was ineffective. Xie Yang hadn't touched a mobile phone in many years and many operation methods had been forgotten. He unlocked his phone with his fingerprint in an unfamiliar manner and found the Weibo app to open it.
An account named 'Small Account 1111' was automatically logged it. It had 0 fans, 1 following and 0 posts. That 1 was too eye-catching so Xie Yang clicked on it with a frown. The page changed and the words 'Mu Zhouyi' appeared on the interface.
"......"
It was fortunate. He didn't need to search for it. He entered Mu Zhouyi's Weibo and scanned Mu Zhouyi's last posts. After seeing the names of several characters in the novel, he locked his phone and threw it aside.
Before the apocalypse occurred, Xie Yang had read several popular online novels and knew the theme of transmigrating into a book. Judging by the current situation, there was a high chance that he had transmigrated. Regardless of whether it was scientific or not, it was undoubtedly a good thing to transmigrate from a world of death to a safe book world.
However, it wasn't so beautiful to cross into the body of a cannon fodder destined to die in the book.
The end of the world was difficult to survive. The reason why Xie Yang spent the time to read a novel he picked up when the situation wasn't so good was because there was a cannon fodder in the book with the exact same name as him.
The cannon fodder was very young. He had just turned 20 when he appeared in the book. His identity was a tool sold by his father to the terminally ill villain. His main function was to use his cowardice and fear of the villain to be a foil to the female protagonist's tenacity and care for the villain. He provoked the relationship between the female protagonist and the villain, promoted their emotional development, adding fuel to the villain and male protagonist fighting over the female protagonist, adding fuel to the fire and becoming a breakthrough point for the male protagonist to take away the villain's company.
Such a cannon fodder was bound to have a bad fate.
At the end of the novel, the villain died. Everything that belonged to the villain was taken by the male protagonist. As the person who helped the make protagonist succeed, the cannon fodder didn't get the relief he expected and was killed by someone. He was only 23 years old and the worst part was that the author didn't explain who was behind the death of the cannon fodder to the very end.
Xie Yang picked up the phone that had been thrown to one side and turned on the camera. He looked at the screen and it was 80-90% similar to his original appearance.
"Are you the cannon fodder 'Xie Yang'? Or just another person with the same name?"
Ah Wen came in at this time and asked, "Yang Yang, what did you say?"
Xie Yang locked the phone and shook his head.
"If there's no problem then I'll go first. The TV show is almost finished and I have to pick the others up. Li Li will come in a while to bring you dinner. Don't run around."
Xie Yang nodded.
Ah Wen left with the driver. Xie Yang went to the window and watched their car drive away from the hospital. Then he picked up the backpack belonging to the original owner of the body and directly left the ward.
It was the evening peak hour and the streets were packed with people leaving work and school. Xie Yang put on his coat and hood and walked slowly along the street with his hands in his pocket. As he passed by a kindergarten, a grandmother picking up a child accidentally bumped into him. Xie Yang instinctively tensed and moved away, his fingers taking the claw shape as he mobilized his ability to fight back.
After changing his body, his energy core had naturally disappeared. His palms were empty and he paused as he slowly clenched his hands.
"Brother, why aren't you going? Are you weak from hunger?"
His clothes were pulled. Xie Yang stiffened and looked down to see a little girl looking up. The girl was at least four years old and was wearing a red dress. She was chubby and cute.
Xie Yang didn't speak and the little girl released her hand. She bowed her head and took out a packet of biscuits with cartoon packaging from her pocket. She handed it over and said, "Brother, this is for you to eat. Go home quickly and I will also go home."
Xie Yang was stunned.
"Brother?"
Xie Yang's mind returned. He moved his stiff body as he relaxed his tightly clenched fists in his pocket. He slowly pulled out a hand, bent down and placed his hand under the girl's palm. The biscuits fell onto Xie Yang's palm and the little girl waved at him with a smile. "Bye, Brother." She ran back to a man shopping at a roadside stall and held the man's hand.
The palm of his hand was a bit itchy and Xie Yang clenched them again. His numb sense of smell was instantly activated and he smelled the multitude of flavours transmitted from this world. They seemed to be saying: Welcome to peace and prosperity.
Then his stomach growled. He placed his hands back in his pocket and straightened to take in a lot of the city air.
So hungry.
The mobile phone in his backpack kept ringing. He ignored it and re-entered the crowd, following a scent into a noodle restaurant.
Beef noodles, soup dumplings, oden, octopus balls, fried rice noodles... Xie Yang ate while walking and all the lights turned on as the sun went down.
His stomach was swollen but he felt satisfied.
Pollution was serious after the apocalypse and all the foods he had seen before the end of the world became luxury products. Xie Yang didn't remember how long it had been since he tasted these artificially seasoned flavours.
He walked out of the lively night market with the barbecue he had just bought. Then he found a flower bed to sit down on and he opened a bottle of beer.
The phone had been quiet for a long time and it should be out of power. The street lights were a dim yellow and mosquitoes flew under the lights. The night market nearby was full of people and the aroma of barbecue and crayfish filled the air. Cars came and went on the road. The night was deep and the city was still sleepless.
This was what life should be like.
Xie Yang moved the beer to his lips, paused for a long time before moving the beer away.
He patted his face. What was going on? He was away from the apocalypse. Why was he still so afraid of losing soberness?
The sudden ringing of his mobile phone disturbed his leisure. The ringtone came from the backpack behind him and the system music obviously didn't come from the old mobile phone where the original owner of the body had carefully set various ringtones. Xie Yang put down the beer and pulled his backpack over. He found a new mobile phone where the protective film on the back hadn't even been pulled off yet.
The screen of his phone flashed with a call from 'that person.'
In the novel, the name on the phone that Xie Yang gave to Qiu Xing was 'that person.' After discovering this, the female protagonist suggested that the cannon fodder Xie Yang should change it for a more respectful name. The cannon fodder Xie Yang refused and told the female protagonist to stay away from the villain. The conversation between the two happened to be heard by the villain and the result was naturally bad luck. The female protagonist succeeded in attracting the villain's attention.
In a world of fiction, what was the probability that a passerby happened to have the same name as the cannon fodder and called someone 'that person' like the cannon fodder?
Zero.
Xie Yang asked himself this, refused the call and took a sip of the beer. Two minutes later, a pair of feet in leather shoes appeared in front of Xie Yang.
"Mr Xie."
Xie Yang slightly lifted his fingers and looked up. The serious man with a bodyguard's appearance stooped slightly and motioned to the back car parked on the side of the road. "The boss is here to pick you up."
Xie Yang glanced toward the car. The door was closed and he couldn't see who was sitting inside. There was no information in his mind that told him who 'the boss' was. He reasoned speculatively and thought that if he was Xie Yang, there were only two people who could be the boss. One was Xie Yang's father, Xie Xiu and the other was his cheap husband, the villain Qiu Xing. The former sold his son while the latter caused endless troubles for his spouse. Neither one was a good choice.
He squeezed the beer can. "You came too early." At least let him enjoy this new night before coming with bad news.
The bodyguard was polite but his tone contained a warning. "Mr Xie, the boss has already been tolerating you. Don't continue to be capricious and get in the car."
"What will you do if I don't get in the car?"
The bodyguard was silent before saying, "The boss has accepted an invitation to lunch tomorrow to understand Chairman Xie's position. He has promised to take you to attend. Please consider it clearly."
It seemed that Qiu Xing was sitting in the car.
Xie Yang picked up the barbecue and stood up, shoving the beer into the bodyguard's hand and patting him on the shoulder. "I'll give you a reward." Then he opened the car door and got in.
"Throw it out."
Xie Yang turned his head to look at the man sitting beside him.
"The thing in your hand, throw it away."
As the biggest villain in the novel, Chairman Qiu Xing looked very good and he had a great atmosphere that was particularly scary when he stared at people with cold eyes. The outer corner of his eye was slightly raised, the corner of his mouth was curved down and the outline of his face was dark. His dark lips and pale face matched the heavy and gloomy look on his face. His black shirt and pants made him look like an evil spirit who had crawled out of hell to stop children crying.
Xie Yang wasn't a child.
He stared into Qiu Xing's eyes and pushed open the door to get out of the car. He went away to the front passenger's seat and pulled out the bodyguard who had just sat down, stuffing the barbecue into his hand. "This is also a reward for you. Eat it well and don't waste it." After speaking, he sat in the passenger's seat, slammed the door shut and closed his eyes.
The atmosphere inside the car became darker. The driver didn't understand how the timid Xie Yang from last time suddenly became so angry. He didn't dare look back at Qiu Xing's expression in the back seat and tried to tell Xie Yang, "Mr Xie, it is better for you to go to the back. The passenger's seat is the most dangerous position..."
Xie Yang put down the seat a bit and lay down with his arms over his chest.
The driver, "..."
Qiu Xing ordered, "Drive."
The driver hesitated. "What about Wu Shui..."
"Drive."
The driver shut up and started the car.
"Lower the air conditioning."
The driver did as he was ordered.
"A little lower."
The driver hesitated for a moment before lowering it again.
Qiu Xing was impatient. "Turn it to the lowest setting."
The driver was frightened. "Boss, the lowest one is 10 degrees Celsius."
"Do it."
The driver wanted to cry. He looked at Xie Yang who still had closed eyes and wanted to bite his handkerchief. The boss had obviously gone crazy again. He was clearly fine before...
The temperature in the car quickly dropped. The weather was currently late summer and early autumn. Xie Yang was only wearing a thin coat and the driver and Xie Yang were wearing a single layer. However, the temperature of 10 degrees meant that they were forced to be frozen.
Xie Yang had just got rid of the apocalypse world and wasn't ready to abuse himself. He opened his eyes and said, "Turn it back up."
The driver didn't dare to move.
Xie Yang looked back at Qiu Xing. "Let him change it back."
Qiu Xing smiled darkly. "Can you still sleep?"
"......"
Madman.
Xie Yang frowned. "I ate a bowl of beef noodles, soup noodles, a bowl of oden, a box of octopus balls and fried rice noodles before getting on the car."
Qiu Xing didn't smile. "Are you showing off?"
"......" Xie Yang pointed to his stomach and explained. "I meant that I overate so if I keep being frozen like this, I will vomit." He pointed again. "I will vomit in the car."
The two people stared at each other and Qiu Xing looked away in disgust first. "Turn up the temperature."
The driver sighed with relief and hurriedly turned up the temperature. Xie Yang lay back down. The car continued to drive for two minutes and Qiu Xing was unhappy again.
"Open the window. There is the smell of cumin."
The driver silently did it. The night breeze came in and swept away the cold air in the car. Xie Yang moved comfortably. Compared to the air conditioning, he actually preferred the natural cool night breeze.
Qiu Xing felt even more upset. "Enough. Close the window."
The driver silently closed the window. Xie Yang pulled the hood over his head and hid his face in the shadows. The low air pressure in the car continued. Before long, the car stopped in front of the city hospital. Qiu Xing got out of the car but Xie Yang didn't move.
The driver diligently opened the door of the passenger's seat. "Mr Xie, it's here."
Xie Yang opened his eyes and got out of the car without taking off his hood. "Aren't you going home? What are you doing here?"
Qiu Xing smiled gloomily. "Take you to have your stomach pumped."
Xie Yang stared at him calmly. "You pay and I'll do it."
The driver quickly lowered his head so he wouldn't see his boss deflated again.
Qiu Xing smiled as he watched Xie Yang coldly before turning to the hospital without speaking. Xie Yang followed.
Qiu Xing was tall, had long legs and took great strides. Apart from his poor appearance and thin body, he showed no signs of weakness that a terminally ill patient should have. Xie Yang followed Qiu Xing and examined him carefully.
The two of them headed to the inpatient department. After arriving in a single ward area, Qiu Xing suddenly stopped. Xie Yang also stopped as Qiu Xing glanced back at him. "Do I look good?"
"Ugly." The apocalypse was full of too many thin and dying people. He saw too much and Xie Yang was tired of it.
Qiu Xing's mouth twitched and he said, "Keep your courage. My nephew had an accident this afternoon and I will go see him. You be quiet and don't talk nonsense."
The villain's nephew, wasn't it the male protagonist? According to the plot, the male protagonist Feng Qinglin would be reborn after a car accident. In the days before the male protagonist was reborn, Qiu Xing had finished swallowing up the Feng family's Fenghua Group. This should be the most hateful time for the male protagonist.
Xie Yang put his hands in his pocket. There should be a good show to see.
The two of them entered the ward just as Feng QInglin was preparing to rest.
Seeing Qiu Xing, Feng Qinglin's expression sank for a second. However, he was the male protagonist after all and quickly controlled his expression as he greeted Qiu Xing as affectionately as usual. Qiu Xing responded coldly and sat down by the bed to ask about his injury.
No one greeted Xie Yang. He simply found a single seat chair to sit comfortably on and looked at this pair of uncles who had their own calculations.
It was said that the nephew was like the uncle. Feng Qinglin's eyebrows were indeed similar to Qiu Xing's eyebrows and they both had very sharp eyes when serious. They might be uncle and nephew but they were only five years apart in age and sitting together, they looked more like brothers. Feng Qinglin was 24 years old and had just entered the Feng family's company for a year. He wasn't favored by the Feng family because his mother was from the Qiu family.
The Feng and Qiu family had old grudges and were rivals in business. Their relationship was like water and fire. In this context, Qiu Jing, the only daughter of the Qiu family and Feng Dian, the youngest son of the Feng family, developed a relationship. Ignoring her parents' dissuasion, she stepped on the face of her parents and married into the Feng family. Her parents were so angry that they directly cut off their relationship with her. Later, Mother Qiu fought against her old age and used artificial conception to give birth to Qiu Xing. She made a will to express that everything in the Qiu family would be left to Qiu Xing and Qiu Jing wouldn't get anything.
Qiu Jing was greatly stimulated by this and miscarried, damaging her body. It wasn't until a few years later that she had the male protagonist and shortly after giving birth to him, she became depressed and committed suicide. After she committed suicide, Feng Dian quickly married someone else, giving Feng Qinglin two younger brothers and a younger sister...
"Uncle, how did my mother die?"
Xie Yang's mind returned and he glanced at the man in the hospital bed.
Qiu Xing's expression sank. "Why are you asking this again? Your mother was driven to death by your father. Don't think about it. Everything is yours and I'll help you get it back. Just recuperate."
Feng Qinglin bowed his head to hide his expression and changed the topic. "Uncle, how is your body? I heard that your condition is becoming worse again."
This question reminded Qiu Xing of something and he waved to Xie Yang.
It was time for the plot.
Xie Yang cooperated by getting up and walking to stand next to Qiu Xing. Feng Qinglin acted very well. He looked like he only just discovered that Xie Yang existed and asked, "Uncle, this is..."
"Your aunt." Qiu Xing pushed Xie Yang in front of Feng Qinglin and raised his chin at Feng Qinglin. "You should call him this."
Feng Qinglin, "......"
Xie Yang, "......"
Wait, this seemed different from what was written in the book. Shouldn't it be 'a random new housekeeper' at Feng Qinglin's inquiry?
________________________________________
Note:
Here, for the explanation why Qiu Xing become Xie Yang's husband:
(Spoiler alerts)
The whole situation happened with Qiu Xing's dying mother choosing Xie Yang to be his son's partner.
But it's not the simple as it is.
*¹ Qiu Xing is terminal ill patient and his mother is also dying. The chance mother dying before Qiu Xing is huge. Therefore she wants someone to be there for Qiu Xing and care for him, so she has to find him a partner. A marriage partner, more specific.
*² Then that person should be trustworthy and not to betray even at Qiu Xing's difficult moments. But there was no such a trusted one and can't be sure the person would never betray him. Thus special need of control. Buying the person with contract and controlling them so never to give space to betray.
*³ Next, there is very much chance Qiu Xing to die and need of not to leave a child behind to be bait/chess piece for their untrustworthy relatives who is waiting for Qiu Xing's fail. Therefore a male partner, so there's no offsprings in any case of Qiu Xing's death.
All qualifications match Xie Yang. He has ignored family, he is easy to buy and easy to control. Therefore mother choose Xie Yang to be his son's partner with the hope him to be his son's lucky star.
***